2013 Ram 1500 SLT V6 8-Speed Automatic

One with the Works: Ram builds a truck for the man of leisure.

In a hyper-macho and ultra-industrious world where cars didn’t exist, what would individuals of subpar testosterone levels and only moderate abilities drive? Even if trucks were our only choice, we imagine the relative merits of cars—smoother ride, ease of maneuverability, efficiency—would hold a natural draw for some. These folks would want trucks as light and economical, as “carlike” as possible. They’d be looking for El Caminos. Or Honda Ridgelines. For 2013, the Ram 1500 has been updated to make it more attractive to such people.

Shedding pounds and gaining miles per gallon led Ram’s agenda, so high-strength steel pares about 30 pounds from the truck’s chassis, while an aluminum hood trims 26 pounds from the nose. According to Ram, the new base powertrain combo tested here saves 76 pounds compared with last year’s. In pursuit of both efficiency and power delivery, it pairs Chrysler’s 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 with the same ZF eight-speed automatic that you’d find in a $474,900 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. That transmission also contributes to one of the Ram’s fuel-saving tricks: a fluid circuit that uses engine coolant to bring it quickly up to operating temperature, reducing the viscosity of the transmission fluid and increasing efficiency. Other mileage-boosting kit on the truck includes automatic grille shutters, low-rolling-resistance tires, and electric power steering. A fuel-efficiency package can be had that adds a tonneau cover and automatic stop-start; it gains another mpg in the EPA city test, bumping the base city rating to 18 mpg. The highway figure remains 25.

For all its newness, though, the Ram doesn’t look much different than it did last year. A taller grille, new front fascia, and headlights updated with LED turn signals are about it. The latest version of Chrysler’s ­Uconnect infotainment system is available, which now can be updated with features and apps downloaded over the truck’s wireless network. (Once upon a time, the only applications a truck buyer needed were the kind turned in by job seekers.) A seven-inch LCD display is optional on the SLT and tucks into the instrument panel. It provides six customizable gauges and displays offering entirely too much choice in where to look to find the time, outside temperature, direction of travel, mileage (instantaneous or average), distance to empty, oil temperature, oil life, trans-fluid temperature, trailer-brake gain, or engine hours. Plus two trip odometers, plus a separate trip odometer for trailering...

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Most important, the RamBox bedside compartments are now power locking. Between them and the in-floor storage wells under the back seats, Ram pilots can keep nearly 43 six-packs of b... soda secured out of sight. In addition to lights that turn on when you open the compartments—just like your refrigerator!—the RamBoxes have manual switches so you can leave them open around the bonfire without diminishing your nighttime ambience. If you ignore those switches, do the lights stay on when the lid is closed? Does your refrigerator light stay on when the door is closed? Put a kid in there and find out—there’s a glow-in-the-dark handle he can pull to release the latch and free himself.